State Department does not decide on candidacy of U.S. co-chair to OSCE Minsk Group

The U.S. State Department has not decided on the candidacy of the U.S. co-chair to the OSCE Minsk Group yet, Spokesperson of the U.S. State Department Victoria Nuland said during a daily press briefing on Thursday.

She said that the Secretary is looking at a full slate of personnel decisions that
he has to make, and he has to make them in consultation with the White
House.

The current U.S. representative to the OSCE Minsk Group on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution is a temporary representative of the co-chair country.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.